Both Gandhi and the Civil Rights movement made brilliant use of the following method: you do something right, which you suspect might lead your opponents to do something wrong. If you are right about them, they discredit themselves, without your having to lift a finger. If you're wrong, you are pleasantly surprised. But you do not have to do anything wrong or underhanded yourself, nor do you in any way have to hope that your opponents are bad people.

As Hilzoy notes, it would be wonderful if there was a reasonable opposition party in the U.S. But it would also be nice if I got a unicorn for my birthday.
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Monday, May 25, 2009

On this day, I would like to express gratitude for the hundreds of thousands of veterans - including my father, late grandfather and a number of uncles - who risked or gave their lives in defense of our country.

With that in mind, the Center for American Progress has compiled some data showing that we're really not doing all we can to honor our veterans and their service. Here's some of the more eye-opening stats:

– 338,000 or almost one in five Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are experiencing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, or major depression as of January 2009.

– Yet only 53 percent suffering from PTSD or major depression have seen a physician or mental health provider.

– 154,000 veterans were homeless on any given night in 2007, and 300,000 were homeless at some point during that year.

– One-third of homeless Americans are veterans, even though only one-tenth of all adults are veterans.

– Foreclosure rates in military towns were increasing at four times the national average in last year.

Of course, this is not going to get better anytime soon. But it's about time we start working harder to remedy the situation.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

With my parents set to arrive in town Tuesday, I'm hoping the string of thunderstorms that have settled over the Tampa Bay area for the past week are ready to move on. The Weather Channel's forecast for the next 10 days does not inspire much hope.

That's just life in Florida from May to August. But nothing is going to keep us from the beach.

Anyway, to chase away those gathering storm clouds over my dome, I came up with a list of my five favorite songs about the rain. Enjoy: